Penn State unanimous No. 1 in NWCA Coaches Poll after beating Iowa; Iowa State jumps to No. 3

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Penn State stands alone as the last Division I unbeaten after the host Nittany Lions topped rival Iowa in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,998 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State comes in as the unanimous No. 1 in the latest NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll on Tuesday.


Penn State (11-0) won six out of 10 bouts in the dual that tied the record for largest indoor dual meet crowd, a record set at Penn State against Iowa in 2018. Iowa remained No. 2.


Iowa State (12-2) moved up to No. 3 after sweeping Oklahoma and Oklahoma State at home. The Cyclones topped then-No. 10 Cowboys 18-11 and the Sooners 25-12. Ohio State made the big leap in the top 10 this week. The Buckeyes (11-1) moved up to No. 4 after beating then-No. 3 Michigan 23-15 and then-No. 22 Michigan State 36-3. Michigan slid three spots to No. 6, while Cornell remained at No. 5 after EIWA wins over Army West Point and Columbia.


Pittsburgh registered the biggest weekend upset as the then-No. 24 Panthers stunned then-No. 7 Virginia Tech 26-12.


In other ranked action, Oklahoma State beat Northern Iowa 17-15, Nebraska beat Wisconsin 23-11, Minnesota beat Illinois 24-9, Northwestern beat both Wisconsin and Rutgers, Northern Iowa beat Oklahoma, Arizona State won at Lehigh, South Dakota State swept Air Force and Northern Colorado, Appalachian State beat Duke and Gardner-Webb, while Michigan State beat Maryland and Indiana edged Purdue.


Lehigh fell out of the Top 25 after falling to both Arizona State and Columbia, while Penn re-entered the rankings after a pair of Ivy League wins. The Quakers (6-4) beat Brown 37-7 and Harvard 26-8.

Ranked Teams in Duals This Week


Friday: No. 1 Penn State at No. 4 Ohio State, No. 2 Iowa at No. 12 Minnesota, No. 3 Iowa State at West Virginia, No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 11 Oklahoma State at Arlington, Texas, No. 7 NC State at Virginia, No. 8 Missouri at Oklahoma, No. 9 Virginia Tech at Duke, No. 10 Nebraska at No. 21 Illinois, No. 16 North Dakota State at Air Force, California Baptist at No. 14 Northern Iowa, North Carolina at No. 18 Pittsburgh, Little Rock at No. 19 Arizona State.


Saturday: No. 3 Iowa State at No. 18 Pittsburgh, No. 10 Nebraska at Purdue, No. 16 North Dakota State at Northern Colorado, No. 23 Rutgers at Maryland, Princeton at No. 5 Cornell.


Sunday: No. 1 Penn State at No. 22 Indiana, No. 4 Ohio State at No. 13 Northwestern, No. 8 Missouri at No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 14 Northern Iowa at West Virginia, No. 19 Arizona State at Oregon State, No. 21 Illinois at Michigan State, No. 25 Penn at No. 5 Cornell, Chattanooga at No. 20 Appalachian State.


Methodology: The NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll is voted on by two coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Each first-place vote is worth 25 points, 24 points for a second-place vote, 23 for a third-place vote and so on through to one point for a 25th-place vote. The poll is based on dual meet results.

NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll

January 31, 2023


Rank/Team (First)/Record/Points/Conf./Previous

1 Penn State (14) (11-0) 350 Big Ten 1

2 Iowa (12-1) 336 Big Ten 2

3 Iowa State (12-2) 313 Big 12 4

4 Ohio State (11-1) 304 Big Ten 6

5 Cornell (9-2) 290 EIWA 5

6 Michigan (9-2) 285 Big Ten 3

7 NC State (11-1) 259 ACC 8

8 Missouri (6-2) 243 Big 12 9

9 Virginia Tech (7-3) 242 ACC 7

10 Nebraska (7-3) 220 Big Ten 11

11 Oklahoma State (9-2) 208 Big 12 10

12 Minnesota (11-2) 194 Big Ten 12

13 Northwestern (5-2) 191 Big Ten 14

14 Northern Iowa (5-3) 148 Big 12 15

15 Wisconsin (7-7) 146 Big Ten 13

16 North Dakota State (8-2) 136 Big 12 16

17 South Dakota State (11-2) 133 Big 12 18

18 Pittsburgh (8-2) 113 ACC 24

19 Arizona State (4-4) 98 Pac-12 17

20 Appalachian State (7-2) 62 SoCon 19

21 Illinois (5-5) 57 Big Ten 20

22 Indiana (7-2) 45 Big Ten 25

23 Rutgers (9-5) 33 Big Ten 23

24 Michigan State (8-5) 30 Big Ten 22

25 Penn (6-4) 26 EIWA NR

Dropped Out: No. 21 Lehigh (6-9).

Others Receiving Votes: Lehigh 23, West Virginia 22, Northern Colorado 14, Cal Poly 8, Air Force 5, Stanford 5, Oregon State 4, Columbia 3, Maryland 3, North Carolina 1.